Percival Goodman, "Modern Artist as Synagogue Builder," 1949
Among the Jews there is no strong tradition, one might almost say no living tradition at all, of synagogue design and decoration.
Ellen Wexler, "Remaking the Modern-Day Synagogue" Moment Magazine, Jan. 2017
For Dovi Scheiner, a synagogue is a place for prayer and pilates, for coffee breaks and comedy and film screenings. But perhaps most importantly, it is a living room.
“The synagogue,” he says, “should be the most beautiful living room in any given community.” Scheiner is a rabbi at SoHo Synagogue in New York, which caters to a younger audience—“post-college, pre-marriage”—and in its original location on Crosby Street, it embraced a trendy urban, industrial look: exposed brick, dangling lightbulbs.
But the congregation’s lease ended, and now Scheiner wants to try something new: the SynaPod. He envisions a small, multipurpose space where people work from their laptops, have meetings, have coffee, eat dinner, attend comedy events, do yoga—the kinds of spaces that young Jews already live their lives in. “There’s a tremendous disconnect,” he says, “between the way Jews live at home and the way synagogues look.”
Many congregations—while perhaps not at the avant-garde of synagogue style—are coming to similar conclusions. As generations pass, particularly in older communities, congregants find themselves in buildings designed for their great-grandparents—but not for them. Not for anyone like them. It is time, they decide, for a change.
At its heart, this is a problem for rabbis—but it’s also a problem for architects. When congregations opt to renovate, questions of design become questions of theology: How do you preserve tradition while embracing the complexities of 21st-century religious life? What should a modern-day synagogue look like? In matters of religion, what is trendy, what is timeless and what is passé?
(ה) אֵין פּוֹתְחִין פֶּתַח בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת אֶלָּא כְּנֶגֶד הַצַּד שֶׁמִּתְפַּלְּלִין בּוֹ בְּאוֹתָהּ הָעִיר, שֶׁאִם מִתְפַּלְּלִין לְמַעֲרָב יִפְתְּחוּהוּ לַמִּזְרָח, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ מִן הַפֶּתַח נֶגֶד הָאָרוֹן שֶׁהוּא בָּרוּחַ שֶׁמִּתְפַּלְּלִין נֶגְדּוֹ. הַגָּה: וְעוֹשִׂין בִּימָה בְּאֶמְצַע בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת, שֶׁיַּעֲמֹד עָלֶיהָ הַקּוֹרֵא בַּתּוֹרָה וְיִשְׁמְעוּ כֻּלָּם. וּכְשֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל הַשְּׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר, פָּנָיו כְּלַפֵּי הַקֹּדֶשׁ. וְסֵדֶר הַיְשִׁיבָה כָּךְ הוּא: הַזְּקֵנִים יוֹשְׁבִים פְּנֵיהֶם כְּלַפֵּי הָעָם, וּשְׁאָר הָעָם כֻּלָּם יוֹשְׁבִים שׁוּרוֹת שׁוּרוֹת, פְּנֵיהֶם כְּלַפֵּי הַקֹּדֶשׁ וּפְנֵי הַזְּקֵנִים. (טוּר).
The entrance to the Synagogue should be opposite the direction that they daven... The bimah is placed in the middle of the synagogue so that the Torah reader could stand there during the Torah reading and everyone will be able to hear. The shaliach tzibbur [one leading the service] should stand facing the aron [ark]. The seating arrangement is as follows: the elders sit facing the congregation, and the rest of the congregation should sit in rows facing the aron and the elders.
(א) בָּתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת וּבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת, אֵין נוֹהֲגִין בָּהֶם קַלּוּת רֹאשׁ כְּגוֹן: שְׂחוֹק וְהִתּוּל וְשִׂיחָה בְּטֵלָה, וְאֵין אוֹכְלִים וְשׁוֹתִים בָּהֶם וְלֹא מִתְקַשְּׁטִין בָּהֶם וְלֹא מְטַיְּלִין בָּהֶם וְלֹא נִכְנָסִים בָּהֶם בַּחַמָּה מִפְּנֵי הַחַמָּה וּבַגְּשָׁמִים מִפְּנֵי הַגְּשָׁמִים, וְתַלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים וְתַלְמִידֵיהֶם מֻתָּרִים לֶאֱכֹל וְלִשְׁתּוֹת בָּהֶם, מִדֹּחַק, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים דִּבְבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ אֲפִלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא מִדֹּחַק שָׁרֵי (רַ''ן פ' בְּנֵי הָעִיר). וְאֵין מְחַשְּׁבִים בָּהֶם חֶשְׁבּוֹנוֹת, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הֵם שֶׁל מִצְוָה, כְּגוֹן: קֻפָּה שֶׁל צְדָקָה וּפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים, וְאֵין מַסְפִּידִים בָּהֶם אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן יִהְיֶה הַהֶסְפֵּד לְאֶחָד מִגְּדוֹלֵי הָעִיר, שֶׁכָּל בְּנֵי הָעִיר מִתְקַבְּצִים וּבָאִים לְהַסְפִּידוֹ; וְאִם צָרִיךְ לִכָּנֵס בָּהֶם לְצָרְכּוֹ, כְּגוֹן לִקְרֹא לְאָדָם, יִכָּנֵס וְיִקְרָא מְעַט אוֹ יֹאמַר דְּבַר שְׁמוּעָה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִקְרָאֶנּוּ, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא נִרְאֶה כְּאִלּוּ נִכְנָס לְצָרְכּוֹ...
One should not behave in a frivolous manner in a synagogue or house of study, by cracking jokes there, for instance, or by indulging in humorous or pointless gossip. One should not eat or drink there nor should one adorn oneself there or walk about there. One should not enter there in summer to cool off or in winter to seek shelter from the rain. In an emergency, scholars and their disciples are permitted to eat and drink there. No monetary calculations should be made there unless they are for religious purposes, collecting money for charity, for example, or for the redemption of captives. ... If a person finds it necessary to enter there for his own needs, to call someone, for instance, he should read or study something and then call him so that it should not appear as if he has entered for his own needs....
(יב) יֵשׁ לִזָּהֵר מִלְּהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּעֲלִיּוֹת שֶׁעַל גַּבֵּי בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת תַּשְׁמִישׁ קָבוּעַ שֶׁל גְּנַאי, כְּגוֹן לִשְׁכַּב שָׁם; וּשְׁאָר תַּשְׁמִישִׁים, יֵשׁ לְהִסְתַּפֵּק אִם מֻתָּר לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ שָׁם. הַגָּה: וְכָל זֶה דַּוְקָא בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת קָבוּעַ, שֶׁנִּבְנָה מִתְּחִלָּה לְכָךְ, אֲבָל בַּיִת שֶׁיִּחֲדוּ לְאַחַר שֶׁנִּבְנָה לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת, מֻתָּר לִשְׁכַּב עָלָיו (פִּסְקֵי מַהֲרִי''ו).
One must avoid using the attic that is above a synagogue on a regular basis for disrespectful activities, e.g. sleeping. It is unclear whether one may use the attic for other activities. This applies to an established synagogue which was built to be a synagogue; but it is permitted to sleep above a house that was designated as a synagogue after it was built.
Depiction of the sun-god Helios on the mosaic floor of a synagogue; Sepphoris, Israel
Congregation Kehillath Israel, of Brookline, MA, is a 98-year-old synagogue on Harvard Street... it is about to embark on a radical renovation plan that might seem counterintuitive: It is downsizing.
The first phase, which will cost $15 million and is scheduled to begin next summer, is all about making the facility more flexible. The fixed pews in the sanctuary will be yanked out and replaced with stacking chairs, and moveable walls will be installed to make the space useable for purposes other than worship. In phase two, Jewish senior housing will be built on the site, creating a significant long-term revenue stream. Overall, the building’s footprint will decrease slightly, to 53,000 square feet from 55,000, excluding the senior housing facility.